Tomahawk's follow up to their self titled debut release "Mit Gas" was released on May 6th 2003. To mark the anniversary date, here is a small collection of album reviews, photos and video. Happy birthday Mit Gas!
Review
Wait, You’ve Never Heard: Tomahawk’s Mit Gas?
Written by ALEX YOUNG
On October 26 2010
Faith No More, Mr. Bungle and Fantomas, up until now, were the only three Mike Patton projects I had ever made time for. I have a soft spot for the first and the compositional qualities of the third are very intriguing. Now, with the return of Faith No More and Coachella season surrounding this time of the year, I felt that it was time to finally sit down and choose another Patton project to indulge in. I had heard many great things about Tomahawk, specifically Mit Gas, so I decided to take it for a few test drives. I now want to buy the car… in cash.
One thing that became apparent very quickly is that most of Duane Denison’s guitar work doesn’t follow a chordal structure but instead croons, drones and screeches through bitter, heavy punk rock. This all helps to create a brooding, multi-layered atmosphere that is fantastically unique.
Denison is Jesus Lizard’s ex-guitar player, which explains quite a lot about the unbelievable work here. Mike Patton’s vocals and screams fit the very individualistic wanderings almost to a tee. The only bands that can compare to the same atmospheric tones are Tool and Led Zeppelin, specifically Jimmy Page’s darker endeavors.
The album opens to feedback and chirps of birds in the background. A slide guitar kicks in and beloved Pink Floyd songs “Mother” and “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” come to mind. “Birdsong” fully opens up at about a minute in with a strong constant drum beat and a groovy bass line. Once the heavily distorted guitar falls into place, the true reason for the atmospheric ideas is found. Denison’s guitar parts are structurally important in supporting Patton’s constantly changing, schizophrenic vocals… and the guitar’s psychotic for a reason. The lead singer is completely out of his mind here, but in the best way possible.
The band’s unique atmosphere becomes fully realized once Patton’s keyboards kick in. Songs such as “Harelip”, “Harlem Clowns”, and “Aktion 13F14” feature some of the creepiest and loneliest sound samples to come out of the Patton camp, sound samples that would only be found in the darkest regions of the imagination. Frankly, this album sounds like dark, kinky sex that ends with reverberating guitar notes and strange Patton hums.
“Desastre Natural” is the only song that seems to stand out like a sore thumb. The whole albums flows quite well until it hits this road block. The music is a bit more accessible and Patton sings in Spanish… I know, it’s weird, but maybe that’s what the group was going for. I mean, it is called “Desastre Natural,” so maybe they were looking for a natural disaster, one that complimented the album in a strange way. Whatever the case, I think Tomahawk achieved what they set out to accomplish.
Mit Gas is a true auditory oddity. Mike Patton brought together the best players in the metal and punk worlds to create a true home for his visionary vocals. While Faith No More will always be his real playground, Tomahawk is an amazing project that deserves more of his attention. I don’t know why I never took the time to listen to it before. Oh, but thank god I did.
Tomahawk "Captain Midnight"
" I like to imagine Mike Patton's mind in similar terms as rural America; it's a nice place to visit, but I sure as hell wouldn't want to live there "
-Scott Hreha
Review by: Scott Hreha
May 1st 2003
I like to imagine Mike Patton's mind in similar terms as rural America; it's a nice place to visit, but I sure as hell wouldn't want to live there. A world where maniacal hitchhikers wait for unsuspecting Samaritans at the edge of town and midgets and harelips cavort in saturnalian bliss on empty carnival grounds might offer a fair amount of solace to extreme cases of psychological disability, but for a normal guy like me it's a tourist destination and nothing more.
Patton, on the other hand, seems perfectly at ease with his permanent residency in the macabre corners of the psyche. After almost single-handedly inventing rap-metal (or at least stealing the patent from Chuck Mosely) with Faith No More, he spent most of the next decade-plus growling, shrieking and spitting his way from a blip on the pop culture radar screen to certifiable obscurity, thanks to his work with Fantômas and a pair of solo records on fellow nutjob John Zorn's Tzadik imprint. But somewhere between starting his own record label to prove that there are other weirdos out there making music as thoroughly twisted as his, and crooning his way to soft-porn nirvana with Dan the Automator on Lovage, Patton answered a call from ex-Jesus Lizard guitarist Duane Denison-- turns out Denison has an unquenchable fetish for writing music for oddball singers, and Patton was just the scratch to relieve his itch.
With fellow musclemen John Stanier (late of Helmet) and Kevin Rutmanis (ex-Cows, The Melvins) fleshing out the DNA strain for this new monster, they christened it Tomahawk and started scalping motherfuckers from the get-go. Not only was their 2001 self-titled debut easily Patton's best work since his Faith No More/Mr. Bungle heyday, but the band also managed to land an opening slot with wannabe-freaks Tool (presumably to lend the headliners some cred on the mentally impaired circuit)-- giving weight to the long-debated theory that routinely being booed off the stage by 15,000 black-clad teenagers only solidifies your resolve as a working musical unit.
Tomahawk "Harelip"
Popmatters.com
Review by: Stephen Haag April 30 2003
Man, oh man, is Mike Patton talented, but that talent has never translated into stardom. Perhaps the general populace is put off by his depraved lyrics or they just can't keep up with his prodigious musical output in his various incarnations. No matter what the explanation, Patton has never had more than a small, devoted cult audience. Whether inadvertently kick-starting rap-metal with Faith No More, getting in touch with his inner Frank Zappa in Mr. Bungle, or just indulging whatever warped muse he answers to with Fantômas, Patton has always made challenging music that not enough people hear. That streak continues with Mit Gas, the sophomore disc from his latest band, Tomahawk, released on Patton's label, Ipecac Recordings.
It's not as though Patton and his bandmates Duane Dennison (guitar, as well as the band's leader), John Stanier (drums), and Kevin Rutmanis (bass) are worried about their lack of accessibility. All have pulled tours of duty with underground acts (Jesus Lizard, Helmet, and the Melvins, respectively) and they're more interested in technical precision and absurdity than they are with selling records. Heck, the first single off Mit Gas is titled "Rape This Day". Good luck finding that on your radio dial.
But there does exist a viable market hungry for the type of twisted metal Tomahawk plays, and Patton acknowledges that in the opening lyric of the first track, "Birdsong": "I'll feed you now", he growls, employing one of the half-dozen vocals tics in his arsenal. That's one of the rare instances where anything can be ascertained from Patton's inscrutable lyrics. As a recent New York Times concert review of Tomahawk noted, "[Patton] doesn't believe that rock is about honesty, about laying oneself bare, about truth and getting under the skin of his listeners. For him, it is entirely about artifice, and much of it specifically about vocal techniques." Could delivery of lines like "the diaphragm of a nation" (from "Rape This Day") and the übercreepy/funny "I am the harelip / Give me one more kiss" ("Harelip") be what makes Patton a standout and drives away potential fans? Again, Patton doesn't appear to care.
But even if one can't get past Patton's skewed lyrics and hell-torched delivery, there's no denying he's surrounded himself with ace musicians. Dennison, Stanier, and Rutmanis generally stick to heavy-as-hell faux-death metal, with an innovative twist on nearly every track. Horror-movie keyboards welcome the listener to "Rape This Day", while "You Can't Win" veers close to California-era Mr. Bungle with its surfed-out guitars and its tendency to change gears at the drop of a hat. The band buzzes around Patton as he unveils his deepest, cartooniest bass voice. Meanwhile, "Mayday" sound like a haunted submarine (there's no other way to describe it) with agitated guitars and Patton's fuzzed-out voice jumping from speaker to speaker before the evil clears for the chorus and the band sounds like, of all groups, Foo Fighters. It's the album's most accessible 30 seconds.
The band throws in a few curveballs as well. Most notable is "Desastre Natural", a gentle waltz sung in Spanish, that would sound out of place where except a Mike Patton album. If the inclusion of this track doesn't convince you of Patton's demented brilliance, then you'll never be swayed. The same could be said for Mit Gas's final two tracks, "Harlem Clowns" and "Aktion F1413". The former is a mostly instrumental exercise that gives the musicians a chance to shine out from under Patton's vocals, though they do have to contend with a looped sound clip that insists "I don't know how to read notes". (It's not as funny as Patton's "This beat could win me a Grammy" off "Pop 1" from Tomahawk's self-titled debut, but it's a decent joke nevertheless.) "Harlem Clowns" ends with a laundry list of seemingly unrelated musicians being read off -- the band being weird for weirdness' sake.
Album closer "Aktion F1413" plays like Patton's answer to Radiohead's "Fitter, Happier" interlude, as a computer-modulated voice offers "The Basic Principles of Hand-to-Hand Combat". (Rule number one, "Be aggressive" namechecks a track from Faith No More's Angel Dust, for what it's worth.) Intercut between these rules is Patton's least anguished singing, but lest one think Tomahawk's gone soft, the album ends with an overmodulated guitar and drum assault.
Not that there was ever any doubt, given his track record, but Mit Gas delivers the goods for Patton's small, devoted cult audience hungry for rock. If you're not a Tomahawk devotee, wait a week and Patton'll probably have released another album. Maybe you'll like that one instead. In the meantime, Achtung! Mit Gas!
Review by: Stephen Haag April 30 2003
Man, oh man, is Mike Patton talented, but that talent has never translated into stardom. Perhaps the general populace is put off by his depraved lyrics or they just can't keep up with his prodigious musical output in his various incarnations. No matter what the explanation, Patton has never had more than a small, devoted cult audience. Whether inadvertently kick-starting rap-metal with Faith No More, getting in touch with his inner Frank Zappa in Mr. Bungle, or just indulging whatever warped muse he answers to with Fantômas, Patton has always made challenging music that not enough people hear. That streak continues with Mit Gas, the sophomore disc from his latest band, Tomahawk, released on Patton's label, Ipecac Recordings.
It's not as though Patton and his bandmates Duane Dennison (guitar, as well as the band's leader), John Stanier (drums), and Kevin Rutmanis (bass) are worried about their lack of accessibility. All have pulled tours of duty with underground acts (Jesus Lizard, Helmet, and the Melvins, respectively) and they're more interested in technical precision and absurdity than they are with selling records. Heck, the first single off Mit Gas is titled "Rape This Day". Good luck finding that on your radio dial.
But there does exist a viable market hungry for the type of twisted metal Tomahawk plays, and Patton acknowledges that in the opening lyric of the first track, "Birdsong": "I'll feed you now", he growls, employing one of the half-dozen vocals tics in his arsenal. That's one of the rare instances where anything can be ascertained from Patton's inscrutable lyrics. As a recent New York Times concert review of Tomahawk noted, "[Patton] doesn't believe that rock is about honesty, about laying oneself bare, about truth and getting under the skin of his listeners. For him, it is entirely about artifice, and much of it specifically about vocal techniques." Could delivery of lines like "the diaphragm of a nation" (from "Rape This Day") and the übercreepy/funny "I am the harelip / Give me one more kiss" ("Harelip") be what makes Patton a standout and drives away potential fans? Again, Patton doesn't appear to care.
But even if one can't get past Patton's skewed lyrics and hell-torched delivery, there's no denying he's surrounded himself with ace musicians. Dennison, Stanier, and Rutmanis generally stick to heavy-as-hell faux-death metal, with an innovative twist on nearly every track. Horror-movie keyboards welcome the listener to "Rape This Day", while "You Can't Win" veers close to California-era Mr. Bungle with its surfed-out guitars and its tendency to change gears at the drop of a hat. The band buzzes around Patton as he unveils his deepest, cartooniest bass voice. Meanwhile, "Mayday" sound like a haunted submarine (there's no other way to describe it) with agitated guitars and Patton's fuzzed-out voice jumping from speaker to speaker before the evil clears for the chorus and the band sounds like, of all groups, Foo Fighters. It's the album's most accessible 30 seconds.
The band throws in a few curveballs as well. Most notable is "Desastre Natural", a gentle waltz sung in Spanish, that would sound out of place where except a Mike Patton album. If the inclusion of this track doesn't convince you of Patton's demented brilliance, then you'll never be swayed. The same could be said for Mit Gas's final two tracks, "Harlem Clowns" and "Aktion F1413". The former is a mostly instrumental exercise that gives the musicians a chance to shine out from under Patton's vocals, though they do have to contend with a looped sound clip that insists "I don't know how to read notes". (It's not as funny as Patton's "This beat could win me a Grammy" off "Pop 1" from Tomahawk's self-titled debut, but it's a decent joke nevertheless.) "Harlem Clowns" ends with a laundry list of seemingly unrelated musicians being read off -- the band being weird for weirdness' sake.
Album closer "Aktion F1413" plays like Patton's answer to Radiohead's "Fitter, Happier" interlude, as a computer-modulated voice offers "The Basic Principles of Hand-to-Hand Combat". (Rule number one, "Be aggressive" namechecks a track from Faith No More's Angel Dust, for what it's worth.) Intercut between these rules is Patton's least anguished singing, but lest one think Tomahawk's gone soft, the album ends with an overmodulated guitar and drum assault.
Not that there was ever any doubt, given his track record, but Mit Gas delivers the goods for Patton's small, devoted cult audience hungry for rock. If you're not a Tomahawk devotee, wait a week and Patton'll probably have released another album. Maybe you'll like that one instead. In the meantime, Achtung! Mit Gas!
Tomahawk Interview with Mike Patton & Duane Denison on Channel V, Australia 2003
Tomahawk | Villar de Mouros Festival | Portugal | July 20th 2003
Mike Patton Interview | Villar de Mouros Festival | Portugal | July 20th 2003
Album Info:
IPC - 40
Design – Martin Kvamme, Mike Patton
Mastered By – John Golden
Performed by – Duane Denison, John Stanier, Kevin Rutmanis, Mike Patton
Producer – Joe Barresi, Tomahawk
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Ipecac Recordings
Copyright (c) – Ipecac Recordings
Recorded At – Grandmaster Recorders
Mixed At – Sound City Studios
Manufactured By – Caroline Distribution
Distributed By – Caroline Distribution
Release Date: May 6, 2003
Duration: 40:43
Track Listing:
1) Birdsong 5:10
2) Rape This Day 3:12
3) You Can't Win 4:49
4) Mayday 3:32
5) Rotgut 2:51
6) Capt Midnight 3:10
7) Desastre Natural 2:58
8) When the Stars Begin to Fall 2:54
9) Harelip 3:30
10) Harlem Clowns 3:40
11) Aktion 13F14 4:57
Buy Tomahawk's Mit Gas at Discogs.com
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